State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chester Township, announced today that Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, has appointed him to serve as a member of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Resources Compact Advisory Board.

Created as part of the Great Lakes Compact, the Advisory Board is one part of a multifaceted approach with the goal of better protecting one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River Basin, from potential water diversions in the future.

Another responsibility of the Advisory Board is safeguarding property rights, which is something that Grendell has championed ever since being elected to office. Making sure those rights are protected was a big concern for Grendell when the Compact was being drafted. His critics might say his concerns slowed down passage of the Compact.

But in the end the Compact was ratified by lawmakers in Ohio, and as a compromise, Grendell got a statewide constitutional amendment passed on the Nov. 4 ballot to help address his concerns about protection of private property rights in relation to water rights.

— John Arthur Hutchison